


Mirjahaal

by Starofwinter



Series: Sweetest Downfall [7]
Category: Star Wars Legends: Republic Commando Series - Karen Traviss
Genre: M/M, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 11:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9722516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starofwinter/pseuds/Starofwinter
Summary: Mirjahaal - peace of mind, healing, general term for emotional well-being especially after a trauma or bereavement





	

Atin was quiet before he and Sev got together, but since his lover’s death, he only speaks when he has no choice.  The rest of Omega Squad considers it a good day when someone - usually Fi, because he’s relentlessly kind and  _ persistent  _  - manages to get him to say more than three words in a day.  It generally manifests as Atin snapping at Fi, who shrugs off the harsh words almost as soon as they come, because at least Atin is  _ talking _ .  He always offers an apologetic squeeze of Fi’s shoulder later, but beyond that, he doesn’t say anything else.

Omega doesn’t see much of Delta either; it’s not surprising, since they already didn’t see them  _ often _ before, but after their joint mission and the relationship between Sev and Atin, Delta was a little friendlier with the other Commandos.  Now, it looks like they closed ranks to grieve together in peace.  No one blames them.  

It’s been almost a full month since Sev’s death, when Atin wakes up one morning with a sense of cold purpose.  He knows what he needs to do, and nothing will stop him.  

He goes through the day normally, or close to it, talking with the rest of Omega in a way he hadn’t since he lost Sev.  His brothers are surprised, but they accept it eagerly, glad to have him back in the fold once more.  Atin almost feels a bit guilty about it, but it feels nice, and it will make things easier if they think he’s back to what passes for normal with them.  It takes a little of their scrutiny off him, at least, which means he’ll be able to sneak away later.

Atin still doesn’t join them when they go to sleep - before his decision, it was because he couldn’t stand the thought of being touched.  Now, it’s because he needs to spend some time following Vau.  He knows the man’s routine well enough, so long as it didn’t change; but he doubts it did.  Anywhere else, and Vau might be suspicious enough to alter his habits to keep himself safe.  But this is Kamino, and beings like him are supposed to be  _ untouchable. _

Not anymore.  A cold, vicious smile curls Atin’s lips as he stays hidden and  _ watches _ .

* * *

 

Two weeks.  It takes two weeks for Atin to establish a plan, and he knows exactly where to catch Vau.  There’s nowhere on the sergeant’s nightly patrols of the platform where he’s not in the range of a holocam, but that doesn’t matter.  Revenge does.  

Atin slips out late one night, dressed in dark gray - he wants to blend in with the deep shadows on the durasteel platform, right until the second that he  _ won’t  _ \- and with his vibro blade strapped to his fist.  He hesitates in the entrance to the barracks for a moment, looking back at his squad, all three of them sound asleep.  He could give up on his vengeance, get back in his bunk or curl up on the floor with them, let their shared warmth melt away the ice in his chest.…  

No.  He forces himself to turn away.  Vau  _ has  _ to die for what he’s done.  Sev deserves that much.

* * *

 

He’s nearly there when someone steps into his path, two other shadows following.  It doesn’t take much for him to recognize the remaining members of Delta Squad.  “Let me pass.”

“You’re going to kill him?” Boss asks while crossing his arms, his bulk taking up most of the hallway, especially with Fixer and Scorch flanking him.  Atin runs through his options and comes up short - he  _ can _ take them in a fight if they’re here to protect Vau, but it won’t be easy or quiet, and he needs both if he’s going to go up against the sergeant.  

The tension builds in silence until, finally, Atin nods.  “Yeah, I am.”  There’s nothing else to say, so he stays quiet, watching as the three of them hold a silent conversation.  It takes a minute, but Delta finally steps back, clearing the way for him.

“He betrayed Sev, he betrayed all of us,” Fixer says quietly, and Atin nods again, stepping past.  He feels their hands on him, a silent benediction as he passes, lending him strength for what’s to come.  

* * *

 

It’s almost too easy to slip up behind Vau.  Atin was trained by the  _ best of the best _ , after all, and he’s had years on the battlefield while Vau remained behind to torture other cadets.  “You’re slipping, Sergeant,” he says, his voice like ice as Vau turns, the instructor’s expression shifting from genuine surprise to something like cold hatred - an expression Atin knows is mirrored on his own face.  

He doesn’t waste time; the blade slips between the gaps in Vau’s armor, sliding home beneath his ribs, up into his heart, just like he’d taught Atin years before.  “This is for Sev,”  he snarls as he twists the blade, hot blood spilling over his hand.  Vau grips Atin’s suit, as though to pull him close, but Atin yanks back and shoves  _ hard _ , freeing himself from Vau’s grasp once and for all.

Atin watches Vau’s body sink, the churning waters already belying the creatures that always rise to the surface to feed on the dead.  He feels no remorse, only a sickening kind of resolution.  Soon, the guards will be there to take him away, and he’ll be executed swiftly.  It won’t be long before he’s marching alongside Sev again.  

That thought brings a burst of awareness that feels like a splash of cold water in the face, and Atin realizes that he doesn’t  _ want  _ to meet up with Sev yet.  He can practically hear his lover’s furious snarl at the very idea, and he blinks at the sudden shift in his thought processes, trying to figure out where things changed.  Atin thinks of Fi, and of Darman, and Niner.  He thinks about how  _ happy  _  they were to have him back, and how easily they’d welcomed him even after nearly a month of him pushing them away.   He doesn’t want to leave them, not yet.  

A flash of gold catches Atin’s eye, and he turns to see Kal Skirata leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.  “Y’know,” the sergeant says, his tone mild, “It’s the damnedest thing.  The holocams went out on this section of the platform.  I offered to check it out myself, instead of sending one of the boys they’ve got in there to watch them.  Guess I’ll just tell them it was somebody taking out the trash.”  He pushes himself up, just as the rest of Atin’s brothers materialize out of the darkness.  

“You really thought we didn’t know what you were up to?  Come on, At’ika, let’s get inside, no need to waste any more time on that  _ osik _ .”  Kal smiles as Fi slings an arm around Atin’s shoulders, and they all walk inside together.  

Maybe he won’t be catching up to Sev just yet.


End file.
